SAN FRANCISCO – The Braves began their 11-game western road trip Friday with a wild 11-inning loss to the Giants, 6-5.
“Maybe the best win of the year turned into maybe the toughest loss,” manager Brian Snitker said.
Here are five takeaways from Friday:
1. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud was the momentary hero with his team down 4-2 in the ninth. The Braves opened the inning with consecutive singles against Tyler Rogers. An out later, d’Arnaud smacked a three-run homer just over the left-field wall to give the Braves a 5-4 lead. It was d’Arnaud’s first home run since Sept. 5.
But the Giants weren’t finished. Down to their final out and strike, Donovan Solano cranked a game-tying solo shot off Will Smith, who blew a save for the second time in 11 chances (a stat that tell the whole story). Smith attacked Solano with five consecutive sliders, the last of which hung in the zone and landed in the seats.
“Sliders, try to get him to swing over them,” d’Arnaud said of their strategy against Solano. “Unfortunately, he got a good pitch to hit and didn’t miss it. Just have to tip your cap. He made the adjustment and made us pay.”
2. The Braves went quietly in their half of the 10th, as they often do. They’re 2-for-37 in the 10th inning this season. Tyler Matzek escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the frame, giving the offense another chance. But the Braves went 1-2-3, making them a dreadful 7-for-49 in extra innings this season.
“I don’t know, there isn’t any explaining it,” Snitker said of the team’s woefulness in extra innings. The Braves didn’t even advance the placed baserunner to third during their two extra frames Friday.
Reliever Jacob Webb’s throwing error on a pick-off attempt gave the Giants a runner at third with none out in the 11th. Two intentionally walks loaded the bases and brought up the pitcher’s spot. The Giants, out of bench players, summoned former Braves pitcher Kevin Gausman as a pinch-hitter. Gausman drew a full count and won it with a sacrifice fly to right field.
“Definitely a swing of emotions in that ninth inning,” d’Arnaud said. “It’s baseball. This one is a tough loss, what can you do? Just focus on tomorrow now.”
3. Ian Anderson allowed one home run last season, albeit he debuted in the middle of the truncated campaign. In his early career, he’s proven a pitcher who keeps the ball inside the park. But he surrendered three homers in one outing for the first time in his career Friday.
The Giants’ first three hits were home runs. After the Braves took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, Darin Ruf’s lead-off walk and Brandon Belt’s homer reset the game without the Giants recording an out. San Francisco took the lead on Brandon Crawford’s blast to begin the second. LaMonte Wade’s homer into McCovey Cove extended the Giants’ advantage in the fourth.
Anderson surrendered nine homers over 18 starts (96 innings) before he was sidelined for over a month due to shoulder inflammation. In four starts since returning (13-2/3 innings), the right-hander has allowed six homers (all have come over his past three outings).
4. Outfielder Adam Duvall’s two-out double in the first added to his National League-leading RBI total. Duvall has 103 RBIs, four more than the Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado, who has the league’s second-highest total. The hit also extended Duvall’s career-best hitting streak to 13 games.
Duvall’s hitting streak is the longest active run in the majors. Teammate Jorge Soler also carried a 12-game hitting streak into Friday but went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
5. This weekend’s series has heavy implications for the Braves and Giants, two first-place teams fighting to stay atop their divisions. The Braves’ loss moved the Phillies within two games of first place in the NL East. The Giants’ win pushed them two games ahead of the Dodgers.
Stat to know
7-for-49 (The Braves are 7-for-49 in extra innings this season.)
Quotable
“It’s definitely up there (for toughest loss of the season). Coming out west, you’d like to get off on a good foot. ... It definitely hurts. We have some work to do going forward. If we could salvage this series and then head to Arizona (for a four-game series beginning Monday), I think we’d be very happy.” - Anderson
Up next
Veteran Charlie Morton (13-5, 3.49) will start Saturday for the Braves against the Giants, who are expected to pitch a bullpen game.
